President Trump’s string of National Guard deployments to U.S. cities for the purpose of suppressing civil unrest raises many legal and operational questions. Just two months after President Trump federalized National Guard troops in California and mobilized roughly 700 Marines to quell protests in Los Angeles over his immigration policies, he deployed the National Guard to Washington, D.C., wresting control of the district’s police to “reestablish law, order and public safety.” A new report authored by Professor Claire Finkelstein, faculty director of CERL, and Dr. Marcos Soler, executive director of CERL, outlines how key findings from a two-part tabletop exercise organized by CERL are instructive in understanding the challenges facing our country and predicting what might unfold over the coming weeks and months.

Read the report, which covers:

• A timeline of President Trump’s deployment of federal troops on U.S. soil.
• The legal authorities governing the use of the military for civilian law enforcement.
• Key takeaways from two tabletop exercises assessing the risk of civil unrest surrounding the 2024 presidential election.
• The importance of improving coordination, training, and communication functions to effectively respond to situations involving civil unrest, including the potential for federal overreach and infringement on constitutional rights.
• Core policy and legal issues surrounding the mobilization of the National Guard in D.C. and the presidential order to deploy troops in California.

More from Professor Finkelstein on this topic:

• “Protecting the Integrity of the National Guard: Considering Proposals for State Enforcement of the Principle of Posse Comitatus,” by Claire Finkelstein, Center for a New American Security, May 20, 2025
• “Trump wants to extend federal control over Washington police,” by Andrea Shalal and Nandita Bose with quotes from Claire Finkelstein, Reuters, Aug. 14, 2025
• “As Trump threatens to send federal troops to U.S. cities, Philly District Attorney Krasner, religious leaders push back,” by Carmen Russell-Sluchansky with quotes from Claire Finkelstein, WHYY, Aug. 13, 2025
• “Bloomberg Law: California v Trump & Big Beautiful Bill,” an interview with Claire Finkelstein, Bloomberg Law Podcast, Aug. 12, 2025
• “With Trump threatening police takeovers in other cities, legal experts say Philadelphia should be prepared,” by Pat Loeb with quotes from Claire Finkelstein, KYW Newsradio, Aug. 12, 2025
• “Weekend Law: California and DC Sue Trump,” an interview with Claire Finkelstein, Bloomberg Law Podcast, Aug. 16, 2025

More from CERL on this topic:

• “National security and legal experts stress measures to safeguard democracy and the rule of law in run-up to Election Day”
• “Democracy on the Front Lines: An After Action Report on Tabletop Exercises to Assess the Risk of Civil Unrest and Threats to the Rule of Law in the 2024 Presidential Election”
• “Penn CERL holds public symposium on threats to the rule of law and U.S. democracy”

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